The iPad Pro 2024 is expected to come with some serious upgrades, most exciting of which is the rumored boost from an LCD screen to OLED. Unfortunately those upgrades may come with a premium to pay. Quite literally, with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman corroborating rumors of a price increase.
Gurman doesn’t specify just how much the new iPad Pros will cost, only that the prices will be higher than what you’d pay for an existing model. For reference the 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799, while the 12.9-inch model starts at $1,099. At the very least those new models would have to be $100 more expensive, though they could easily be a lot more.
Alongside the new OLED displays, these new iPad Pros are also expected to come powered by Apple’s M3 chipset, a new landscape oriented front camera, an upgraded Magic Keyboard and possibly even the Apple Pencil 3. All of which will be of great benefit if you plan on using the iPad Pro as a productivity device. And let’s be honest, given the price tag, you’re wasting your money if you’re not.
Gurman notes that the switchover to OLED has been a challenge due to the increasing complexity in manufacturing them. Gurman claims that these issues are why the iPad Pro 2024 didn’t launch in March alongside the MacBook Air M3, as it was originally expected to. Previously Gurman said that these iPads could launch in early May, and has now narrowed that window down to the week of May 6.
If you’re not enthused by the idea of an iPad Pro price hike, it sounds like there are other options available to you — albeit without the shiny new OLED screens. The iPad Air is also expected to get a refresh next month, and there have been rumors that a larger 12.9-inch model is on the way for a still-unspecified price. So if you want a large screen iPad, and can live without OLED and those other enhancements, that may be an option.
Gurman has also heard word of a refreshed version of the iPad mini and the entry-level iPad. However the earliest these are likely to arrive is the end of the year, and without much in the way of upgrades. The iPad mini 7 may just receive a basic processor upgrade, while the entry-level iPad is expected to be a cost-reduced version of the iPad 10th generation that launched in 2022.
There’s also word of that foldable iPad that Gurman says is still in the early stages, but I can’t imagine that’d going to be anything other than excruciatingly expensive. Which means anyone wanting to burn money on an iPad will have to wait for the new iPad Pros to arrive. And you can keep up to date on all the latest news and updates in our iPad Pro 2024 and iPad Air 2024 hubs.
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